


Lost in Translation

by yaknownyan



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bad Flirting, Canon Compliant, Espionage, First Kiss, Happy Ending, How Do I Tag, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Nour's birthday gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:20:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21523594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaknownyan/pseuds/yaknownyan
Summary: "Are you threatening me?""Why, are you scared?"Lotor clicked his tongue, "Terrified."
Relationships: Lotor/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 61





	Lost in Translation

Lotor had been enamored of others many times.

It was impossible to travel as far as he had without leaving pieces of oneself, souvenirs to every little corner of the universe. Many had told tales of a galra-altean hybrid prince, with long flowing white hair, who left a broken heart in a planet or another.

He had never ached for someone, though. Never longed for the touch and attention of someone before. Maybe a few memories were more treasured than others, but there never was a name stuck in his mind for long, a patch of skin where a kiss burned for days on end. Lotor had never imagined a future in which to share his victories and rebellious journey with a being who wasn't a permanent part of his crew of loyal generals.

"The coalition stops will be here, here, and here. Keith will be following closely with the blades."

But something about even the slight rise of his voice made the hairs on his back stand up in warning. Like the pressure in the room suddenly changed with a movement of his lips and a flick of his tongue.

The black paladin continued to slide through the maps containing coalition plans for a diplomatic journey they would soon embark. Princess Allura made a few comments every now and then, playing with the curled tips of her moon-blessed hair or scratching one of her mice. The other paladins were scattered around the room, engaged in something trivial and listening idly to the briefing. Even Coran seemed to be busy with something else; no one was paying more attention to his words than the Galra prince. Every so often their gazes would cross, and the black paladin seemed to bask in the attention. Maybe he wasn't used to be put in such a high pedestal. Surely no one had a pedestal for him as high as Lotor's.

He reached the end of the briefing, and both sides were disappointed, "I think that's it, guys."

A long groan of relief came out of the blue paladin's mouth before he rolled off the couch, stretching his limbs, "Sorry, Shiro. Coalition stuff is not my forte."

Lotor resisted the urge for a snarky comeback, or a scold. It was not his place, and he was too reassured of his position and pride to voice his slight dislike for the blue paladin. Shiro, however, had no problem arching a disapproving eyebrow at the man, who shrugged in response as a makeshift apology.

The yellow and green paladins stood up as well, "I thought it was a good plan." The tall one, Hunk, said, "Just... very late hour of the night. Sorry. You know how much I love diplomacy briefings, Shiro."

It was very late. Team Voltron had an extremely agitated routine recently, with the defeat of Zarkon bringing bigger responsibilities to the mission of freeing the galaxy. Lotor helped as much as they would let him, but it was noticeable how weary some members of the team still were around him. The red paladin, when he was around, stared at him incessantly, following Shiro like a shadow.

"Well, make sure to get a good night's rest." Ah, there it was. The leader composure was cracking. Lotor could barely peek through the edges, but the black paladin's exhaustion was barely unnoticeable for someone as perceptive as him, "Good night, everyone."

Princess Allura rose gracefully, carrying the mice on the palms of her hands, "Thank you, Shiro. Rest well."

"Good night, number 1!"

The door to the conference room slid shut behind them. Shiro scratched his neck, sighing.

"You'd think by now he would call me by my name, huh?" He said lightly.

Lotor blinked. Once. Twice. Was he talking to him? "Surely you should be flattered to be first in rank, no?"

The black paladin looked amused at his response, probably not expecting Lotor to play along with his small talk. They stayed silent for a minute or so.

"Black paladin..."

"Shiro." He cut him off, "I told you to refer to me less formally last time we talked."

"Shiro..." Lotor loved the way the name rolled off his tongue, "I never asked why you gave me your bayard in secrecy."

The man pondered for a second. Lotor watched him.

"I saw good in you."

The answer surprised him. He expected a noble speech about the implications of sending a man unarmed to the arms of his enemy, or how they were too good to do something as such, "Good? You were a prisoner of Zarkon, no?"

"I won't hold your father's actions against you." He said, "I am sure you are the complete opposite of him."

The _no matter what my team says_ was implied. Lotor couldn't help but flush. He eyed the man before him; the way his back arched like a powerful lion's juxtaposing the soft edges of his face and features. Humans were such interesting creatures. Lotor had seen many types of species, from humanoids to animalistic creatures, to life forms in form of abstract concepts of being, and yet...

"You are so physically unthreatening."

Shiro seemed flustered. He turned to him, looking slightly offended and confused, "I am sorry?"

"You are tiny. And judging from the others, I assume you are still one of the strongest of your kind. You would not be the champion otherwise."

He frowned, digesting his words, "...you're calling me tiny?"

Lotor moved closer, tilting his head down to look at the man. The top of Shiro's head barely passed his collarbone, "I do not mean this as an offence. In fact, it must be an advantage in battle." He looked at the tension pulling him like a taut string, muscles flexing in anticipation, "I am not neglecting your strength. You are like a creature using it's physical features to mask it's potential."

Shiro crossed his arms, "Humans are pacifists. I wouldn't hesitate to take down someone your size, though."

-

"Oh, dear! They are flirting!"

Lance scoffed, "What?! Coran, Lotor is clearly threatening him. We have to go do something!"

"Don't you dare, Lance! We need to see how this will turn out!"

It was undeniable that from all of the paladins, the one who knew Shiro the most was Keith. And perhaps they would have all had an opportunity to form a tighter bond from the beginning, if it wasn't for the fact that both men had the unbearable habit to build unbreakable walls around themselves. The team understood and respected their privacy; Shiro more than most due to the fact that he wasn't completely emotionless. As a year passed, they all grew to be family, and even Lance learned to read past Shiro's perfect leader facade. This did not mean they rarely saw vulnerable sides to him that they could only assume Keith knew about. So when Hunk idly commented on Lotor and Shiro's peculiar interactions with one another, Lance and Coran managed to convince the group to spy on them tonight.

"Hunk, Lance, shut up! They're going to hear us like this!"

It did not take much convincing. Even Pidge seemed invested in the story. 

"What are you all doing?"

The group struggled to move themselves away from the door; Pidge almost decapitated herself. Allura stared down at them with a disapproving frown that seemed to scare even Coran. 

A pause. They all blinked once, twice. Coran smiled, "I'm assuming you want to join us, Princess?"

The trio looked at him incredulously; but nothing could have prepared them for Allura smiling, and kneeling down to get a better angle through the slightly ajar door.

-  
The tension in the room was like static; Lotor realised almost too late that he had stopped breathing. The black paladin still looked at him in a defensive manner, and yet anyone could decipher his playful demeanour. So they were finally doing this? His pupils were blown wide, adrenaline running through his entire being. He could feel the undeniable reciprocity from Shiro in the way he eyed his body appreciatively, smiling defiantly. 

"Are you threatening me?"

"Why, are you scared?"

Lotor clicked his tongue, "Terrified."

This was fun. It had been a long time since he had played with somebody. He wondered what his father would say if he found out he had been claimed by one of his prisoners; the champion, nonetheless.

Shiro started unzipping his vest, revealing the black suit underneath, "Alright, your Majesty. Let's do this, then."

Bold. Who would have taken the leader of the Voltron coalition for such a thing? Lotor's eyes widened; a slight purr in his chest showed his delight as he started removing the top of his armour, walking closer to the black paladin, not wasting a moment of his time, "Finally."

\-   
"Wait... what are they doing?"

Everyone scrambled around, trying to poke their heads out for a better view.

Pidge gagged, " _They are taking their clothes off!_ " Hunk covered her eyes, "Hunk! I am sixteen!"

"I still think they are fighting!" Lance pointed at the pair, "Look! Shiro is in a defense stance."

"I don't know..." Allura said, "Lotor seems awfully enthusiastic. Oh! He started running towards him!"

"Hunk! Let me see!"

Coran adjusted his binoculars; no one knows where he got them from. There was a moment of silence, followed by a gasp. Lance jumped up so high he almost hit his head on the ceiling. Pidge managed to spread Hunk's fingers wide enough to get a clear view. Allura looked like she was watching her favourite soap opera, "THEY KISSED!"

"Wait... oh, Shiro pulled away!"

"Oh! What is he? Oh no-"

-

The deafening echo of the slap still ringed through the wide walls and ceilings of the bridge. Lotor rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand, eyes wide, chest heaving.

Shiro was covering his face with his hands, panicked, "I... am so sorry... I wasn't expecting you to-"

Lotor squinted, "Is this... some type of human courting procedure?"

Shiro froze at his words. Suddenly, it dawned on Lotor that perhaps the past has not treated one of Zarkon's most precious slaves too kindly. He pictured Sendak and his troop, and immediately sat up, struggling to form an apology. 

The paladin's next words, however, stopped him.  
  


"...you were flirting with me...?"

Lotor could almost feel his blood pressure dropping, "Yes? What did you think I was doing?" He thought for a moment, "What were _you_ doing?!"

"I thought... I thought you wanted to _spar_!"

He looked at him in bewilderment.

" _You thought I wanted to engage in combat?!"_

The black paladin looked embarrassed, the realisation dawning on him with every passing moment. He murmured something which Lotor did not comprehend.

Lotor recovered, yet his mind still tried to make sense of the situation. It felt like his brain had blown a fuse, "What?!"

Shiro fidgeted with his fingers, "...you see, I am extremely competitive and..."

"I was trying to mate with you! Do you act that boldly with all your enemies?!"

"MATE?!"

There was a loud noise from the main entrance of the bridge, followed by hushed whispers and muffled cries of indignation. Shiro jolted, activating his arm. Lotor barely moved; he was still trying to make sense of the situation. 

Had he misread the interaction? Lotor is quick-witted, and while this was usually an advantage to carefully plan out his next move in any given situation, perhaps he was too eager.

He looked down. Stupid libido. Not only had he ruined any possible form of relationship he might have had with the black paladin, he jeopardized his alliance with team Voltron. 

A hand grazing against his shoulder pulled him out of his self wallowing, and he almost shivered. Shiro looked at him as if to say, _we are not finished here_ , "If you would excuse me."

As he marched to the other end of the room, the chattering seemed to stop. He put his ear close to the door before opening it without warning, sending the paladins and Alteans rolling out into the room like bowling pins.

The blue paladin attempted to offer a goofy grin as a makeshift apology. Shiro was unamused. Lotor would find this espionage entertaining if they had not seen him terribly fail to get it on with their leader.

-

Going back to his quarters after the incident was humiliating. He struggled to ignore the bickering from Shiro and his team, which was loud enough to reach even the lower, abandoned rooms of the castle. He buried his face in his hands; he could almost hear Ezor's laughter instead, making fun of him as Zethrid gasped for air in the background and Acxa failed to comfort him by letting out giggles of her own too. 

He missed them. 

There was a knock on his door. 

Upon careful consideration, he decided to ignore it, lest it be the blue paladin coming to ridicule him. The knocking repeated itself, louder and more impatient as he turned tossed in his bed like a child throwing a tantrum. 

"Prince Lotor. It's me."

Maybe this was all a nightmare; maybe Zarkon's witch had finally mastered the ability to infiltrate his enemies' minds to the point of madness. He stayed very still, thinking he would go away soon. 

The knocking grew incessant. 

Shiro barely flinched when Lotor opened the door abruptly. He was now wearing his vest, which made him feel vulnerable without the top half of his armour.

He did not look mad, or scared. Lotor wondered if this meant he had offended him to the point of ending all sympathy. 

The black paladin sighed, arms leaving his chest, "Humans... don't jump straight to... I mean, sometimes they do..." He was avoiding Lotor's gaze, a light colour spreading on his cheeks and chest, "I have not... for a long time... it's not like it was unwelcomed. I mean, you are _very_ handsome. I mean... yowza."

He seemed to regret it as soon as he said it. Lotor frowned, "What do you mean?"

"What I'm trying to tell you..." he said, "Is that I am interested. And I hope our last interaction did not ruin things for us. I am sorry I slapped you."

Lotor stared at him. Shiro started to grow more uncomfortable by the second.

Oh. He should probably give him an answer.

"How..." he cleared his throat, "How do you suggest we proceed with this?"

The man looked elated, "A date? Let's say... tomorrow night?"  
  


"...what the quiznak is a date?"

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOUR!


End file.
